Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday said the Supreme Court’s ruling has paved the way for Chhattisgarh Police to probe the larger conspiracy angle into the 2013 Naxalite attack that killed 32 people including top Congress leaders.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against the Chhattisgarh Police probe into an FIR alleging a larger conspiracy in the horrific Jheeram Valley attack.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra dismissed the NIA plea and said: “Sorry, we will not like to interfere. Dismissed.”

Later, Baghel in a post on X hailed the apex court decision and said it is like "opening the door of justice for Chhattisgarh".

“The Jheeram incident was the biggest political massacre in the world’s largest democracy wherein we lost 32 people including senior Congress leaders,” he said.

The NIA investigated it, a commission also investigated it but no one probed the “larger political conspiracy” behind the incident, he said.

“When Chhattisgarh Police started the investigation, NIA approached the court. Today the path has been cleared. Now Chhattisgarh Police will investigate. Who had hatched what conspiracy with whom? Everything will become clear. Once again a tribute to the martyrs of Jheeram,” Baghel said.

On May 25, 2013, Naxalites attacked a convoy of Congress leaders at Jheeram Valley in Darbha area of Bastar district, killing 32 people, including then state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, former leader of opposition Mahendra Karma and former Union minister V.C. Shukla.

The deadly ambush took place when political campaigning for Assembly elections was on and the Congress leaders were returning after taking part in a rally in Bastar district.

The police then lodged an FIR into the incident. The NIA took over the probe. After completing its investigation, the NIA filed a charge-sheet and a trial commenced.

On May 26, 2020, another FIR was lodged and complainant Jitendra Mudliyar, a Congress leader, sought a probe into the larger conspiracy angle behind the incident.

Mudliyar is the son of Congress leader Uday Mudliyar, who was also killed in that attack.

The NIA later filed an application in a special (NIA) court in Jagdalpur seeking directions to the police not to proceed with the investigation in the fresh FIR and hand over all documents pertaining to the FIR to it.

The special court rejected the NIA application in 2020, after which the agency moved the High Court, which also rejected its plea last year.

The NIA then moved the Supreme Court, which pronounced the ruling on Tuesday.